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Thursday, May 25, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS

‘M’ stunned by Northwestern, 6-4

By JACOB SHAMES

Summer Managing Sports Editor

Ninth inning, bases loaded, no outs.
The Michigan baseball team faced 

a similar situation in its regular-
season finale last Saturday against 
Michigan State. With the game tied 
at one in the bottom of the ninth, 
redshirt junior right-hander Jackson 
Lamb recorded three straight outs to 
escape the jam, and the Wolverines 
eventually defeated the Spartans, 2-1, 
in 10 innings.

In its Big Ten Tournament opener 

against Northwestern Wednesday, 
Michigan wasn’t as fortunate. Down 
4-3, the seventh-seeded Wildcats (24-
28 overall, 13-11 Big Ten) plated three 
runs in the top of the ninth against 
Lamb and sophomore left-hander 
William Tribucher to earn a come-
from-behind, 6-4 upset win against 
the second-seeded Wolverines.

The loss was a shocking turn for 

Michigan (42-14, 16-8), beyond the 
the unexpected nature of a No. 7 seed 
defeating a No. 2 seed. Wednesday’s 
contest marked just the third time 
this season the Wolverines had lost 
a game in which they held a ninth-
inning lead. Also, the three earned 
runs Lamb gave up were the first 
three he had surrendered all season in 
28 innings. 

Junior right-hander Ryan Nutof 

came out firing for the Wolverines, 
hammering the strike zone with 
his mid-90s fastball in the first and 
second inning. At first, Northwestern 
had no answer — the Wildcats struck 
out three times in their first five 
at-bats. But they were soon able to 
pick up on Nutof’s approach: First 
baseman Connor Lind sat on a Nutof 
fastball and homered to right to give 
Northwestern a 1-0 lead in the second 
inning.

However, Michigan was unfazed. 

Two-out rallies have been a staple 
for the Wolverines this season, and 
this continued in the second inning. 
Junior first baseman Jake Bivens 
drove a double down the left-field 
line, and sophomore designated hitter 
Nick Poirier slapped an RBI single 
into centerfield to tie the game.

After adjusting to Nutof’s velocity, 

the Wildcats continued to make 
strong contact — their next four 
at-bats consisted of a double, a hard 
line-drive out to end the second, a 
single and a two-run bomb by second 
baseman Alex Erro in the third 
inning. But Nutof responded with 
his secondary arsenal, recording four 
strikeouts via off-speed pitch in the 
third and fourth innings.

“Northwestern’s a good fastball 

hitting team. They ambush the 
fastball,” said Michigan coach Erik 
Bakich. “Nutof has a good fastball, but 
they were ready for it after the first 
inning. ” 

Michigan responded again in the 

bottom half of the third inning. Senior 
centerfielder Johnny Slater took the 
first pitch he saw from left-hander 
Cooper Wetherbee and parked a shot 
to deep right field to cut the deficit in 
half.

The Wolverines took their first, 

and only, lead in the fifth inning. 
Sophomore right fielder Jonathan 
Engelmann ripped a double to the 
gap in left field to lead off. He later 
advanced to third on a textbook 
bunt from senior catcher Harrison 
Wenson, and sophomore second 
baseman Ako Thomas knotted the 
score with a double down the left-field 
line. A passed ball allowed Thomas 
to move to third, and he scored when 
Northwestern catcher Jack Claeys’s 
throw flew past the base and into the 
outfield.

With his entire array of pitches 

established, Nutof was dominant. He 
hurled a career-best 10 strikeouts, and 
retired nine straight batters during 
one span from the fourth to seventh 
innings before he was relieved by 
senior right-hander Mac Lozer after a 
one-out double ended that streak.

That lead may have been only one 

run, but it was a lead that Michigan 
felt fully confident in, especially with 
two relievers that sported perfect 
earned-run averages coming into the 
game. Lozer stranded the runner at 
second with two strikeouts in the 
seventh, and left another runner at 
second to keep the Wildcats off the 
board.

Lamb then took the mound in 

the ninth, but from the first batter, 
it was clear that he wasn’t nearly 
as sharp as usual — according to 
Bakich, his shoulder soreness leading 
up to Wednesday played a role. He 
surrendered two consecutive singles 
and a four-pitch walk to load the 
bases, and also threw a wild pitch. 
Tribucher 
attempted 
to 
salvage 

the situation, but to no avail — 
Northwestern hit two more singles to 
drive home three runs.

The 
Wolverines 
won’t 
have 

much time to move on from their 
surprising defeat, as they’ll face No. 
6-seed Indiana at 10 a.m. Thursday 
in an elimination game. Michigan 
has been a “bounce-back team” all 
season long — the Wolverines have 
lost consecutive games just once this 
season — but the confidence that 
comes with this will be tested once 
again.

“We’re excited for tomorrow,” 

Brdar said. “We gotta stick with what 
we’re doing, stick with our approach 
— pitching, good defense and timely 
hitting, and tomorrow should be a 
different outcome.”

Ninth-inning woes cost Michigan 

BASEBALL

By PAIGE VOEFFRAY

Daily Sports Writer

It 
appeared 
the 
second-

seeded Michigan baseball team 
would squeak out a win against 
seventh-seeded Northwestern in 
its opening game of the Big Ten 
Tournament. 
The 
Wolverines 

led, 4-3, heading into the ninth 
inning, and go-to closer senior 
right-hander Jackson Lamb was 
on the bump. 

Coming 
into 
the 
contest, 

Lamb had a 0.00 earned-run 
average and had allowed just 
18 hits through 28.0 innings 
pitched. Michigan expected the 
same Lamb that had closed out 
nearly every game this season 
— but the Lamb that showed up 
Wednesday was much different. 

Wildcat first baseman Jack 

Claeys walked up to the plate in 
the lead-off slot and knocked the 
3-2 pitch through the first and 
second base gap. With the tying 
run on first base, Northwestern 
opted to replace Claeys with a 
pinch runner. Lamb had been in 
tough situations before, but with 
the steady stream of rain and a 
man on first, he threw just his 
second wild pitch of the season 
and the Wildcats advanced to 
second. 

With 
a 
man 
in 
scoring 

position, third baseman Connor 
Lind crushed a line drive over 
a leaping sophomore second 
baseman Ako Thomas. Michigan 
managed to hold both runners on 
the corners, but if Lamb wasn’t 
shaky before, his confidence had 
to have been dwindling. 

It was clear Lamb wasn’t 

himself when he walked the next 
batter in four straight pitches. 

The walk forced Michigan 

coach Erik Bakich to bring in 
sophomore right-hander William 
Tribucher to try and clean up 
Lamb’s mess — a tall task. The 
bases were loaded with no outs. 

Right-fielder 
Ben 
Dickey 

hadn’t managed a hit all day, but 
picked up his first in the ninth 
inning when he singled through 
the Wolverine third baseman and 
shortstop. It wasn’t necessarily 
hard hit, but it was perfectly 
placed and just out of reach for 
senior shortstop Michael Brdar. 
The hit was enough to score one 
run and tie the game, 4-4. 

The first out of the inning 

came at the hands of Brdar after 
he slightly bobbled the ball but 
managed to flick the ball with 

the tip of his glove to junior third 
baseman Drew Lugbauer. While 
the go-ahead run crossed the 
plate, it was an impressive move 
from Brdar that minimized the 
damage. 

With one away and men on 

first and second, the inning was 
far from over and Northwestern 
had the momentum in their 
favor. Second baseman Alex Erro 
crushed a single up the middle 
passed a diving Thomas to score 
another run. 

Fortunately 
for 
Michigan, 

Tribucher caught shortstop Jack 
Dunn looking for the crucial 
second out. An easy groundout 
would end the frame, but instead 
of celebrating, the Wolverines 
had some work to do. 

The bottom of the ninth inning 

found junior first baseman Jake 
Bivens in the leadoff spot. He 
was hit by the second pitch he 
saw, bringing the tying run to 
the plate. Already having picked 
up a run batted-in in the second 
inning, designated hitter Nick 
Poirier smacked a line drive to 
second base. It was similar to 
the one Michigan had seen in 
the top of the inning, except 
Northwestern was able to catch 
it. 

With 
one 
out, 
sophomore 

right-fielder 
Jonathan 

Engelmann skied the 1-2 pitch 
and after the Wildcat shortstop 
backed up to the grass, he easily 
made the catch for the second 
out.

The final out came at the 

hands of senior catcher Harrison 
Wenson. Currently batting .191 
— the lowest of the starters — 
he’s not the ideal choice to be in 
this position. But he is one of the 
few Wolverine players who has 
the ability to hit the long ball, 
something Michigan desperately 
needed. 

But it wasn’t in the cards for 

the Wolverines as Wenson struck 
out swinging in three pitches.

It was a rare — and crucial — 

mishap from Michigan’s bullpen. 
Now, the Wolverines will need 
to win five straight games to 
capture the Big Ten Tournament 
title.

“50-some games where we’ve 

been pretty consistent (in the 
ninth inning) so I just look at this 
as a fluke, just a speed bump,” 
Bakich said. “Our guys have 
responded every time they’ve 
been knocked down all season 
and they’ll respond tomorrow.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Junior right-hander Ryan Nutof started against Northwestern Wednesday.

